


Coffee Heroes

by morrezela



Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Coffee, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-26
Updated: 2016-12-26
Packaged: 2018-09-12 07:17:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9062062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/morrezela/pseuds/morrezela
Summary: Jensen thinks that Jared keeps trying to steal his good press from him, but he might not be right about that.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [zubeneschamali](https://archiveofourown.org/users/zubeneschamali/gifts).



> This was written for Zubeneschamali for the 2016 SPN_J2_Xmas exchange.
> 
> All mistakes you find are my own.

The coffee shop was small and out of the way. While the big name chains were usually cramped with people impatiently waiting for their complicated special orders, this one rarely had a line. It didn’t have a line because the coffee was atrocious. Jensen wasn’t entirely sure it was coffee. He half suspected the owner substituted some dried root nonsense because it was cheaper than buying actual coffee beans.

But there was a secret to this little coffee shop, one that was likely the sole reason the place was still in business. The pastries were delicious. Jensen had seen more than one customer walking into Starbucks with a paper bag bearing the 6th Street Coffee Shop logo. 

Even as a regular, Jensen had to admit the name 6th Street Coffee Shop wasn’t exactly catchy. Hell, it wasn’t even accurate. The shop was on 12th street. He wasn’t sure if they had moved the shop at some point, or if the owner was just slightly unhinged, though he usually assumed the latter. Again – he wasn’t sure the coffee was actually coffee.

Still, he was looking forward to a delectable brownie when he pushed the door open to the shop, only to see his nemesis standing at the counter. Padalecki was the pride and joy of the superhero community. With his dimples and boyish charm, he’d wooed even old curmudgeons like SideWinder. His dance card was always full at the annual Hero Celebration Party.

He was also a massive dick, and nobody believed Jensen on that score. But it wasn’t a coincidence that Jared liked to show up to Jensen’s villain fights at the last minute. Him and his obnoxiously flashy costume loved to grab the credit for Jensen’s arrests, delegating the person who actually did all the work to being a footnote at best. 

If there was a person Jensen would consider becoming a villain over. It was fucking Padalecki. Because he was self-aware and not willing to get in a pissing match with his supposed ally, Jensen ducked his head down and hoped that Padalecki wouldn’t notice him slinking into the back of the line.

Jensen really, really hoped that Padalecki wasn’t going to make a habit of entering the shop. Most of the other heroes preferred hanging out in all the popular, trendy places. Those places were best for reaching prime villains if they happened to attack during one of your daily breaks.

After all, nobody supposed ally, Jensen ducked his head down and hoped that Padalecki wouldn’t notice him slinking into the back of the line.

Jensen really, really hoped that Padalecki wasn’t going to make a habit of entering the shop. Most of the other heroes preferred hanging out in all the popular, trendy places. Those places were best for reaching prime villains if they happened to attack during one of your daily breaks.

After all, the best villains to catch were the ones who were ballsy enough to attack populated areas. It was good for publicity, especially if you managed to capture them without much collateral damage. Good publicity meant better merchandizing deals and potential opportunities for paid jobs. After all, not everyone could afford to support their heroism through family fortunes.

“Jensen!” Padalecki boomed.

Jensen tried not to curse under his breath as he reluctantly dragged his eyes up off the floor. Jared’s million watt smile was already going. There was somebody audibly cooing at the sight.

“Jared,” he tried to greet as civilly as possible. Maybe if they exchanged pleasantries, Jared would leave him alone. Or maybe Jensen would get lucky and a supervillain would break out of prison.

“I haven’t seen you around lately,” Jared said.

“Been busy with everyday work,” Jensen lied. He was working on a big sting - one that should net him a chance to pose for some national magazines if he pulled it off. The last thing he was going to do was clue Jared in on his plans. 

“Ouch. You’re an accountant, right? Tax season starts earlier every year, huh?” Jared asked.

“Sure,” Jensen replied absently as he stepped up to the register to order. Maybe Jared would leave him alone now that social propriety dictated Jensen interact with another person. He didn’t even think about informing Jared that he wasn’t that kind of accountant. That kind of information tended to confuse people. It was right up there with telling somebody that mathematicians and engineers were not, in fact, qualified to be accountants because they’re “good with math.” It was just plain better not to have that the conversation because people who didn’t know any better would always insist Jensen was the one who didn’t know what he was talking about. 

Unfortunately, Jared was still there when he finished ordering.

“So I was thinking that we should work together,” was not what he expected to hear coming out of Jared’s mouth.

“What?” was the only thing Jensen could make his mouth say in return. 

“Well, you know, I have this big, uh, tax return coming up, and I could use your unique skill set. You know with the, uh, numbers and everything,” Jared rambled. It was a wonder the whole city didn’t know his secret identity given how bad he was at subtle conversations.

“You could use my help,” Jensen said flatly. He couldn’t help the dubious eyebrow arch that accompanied his statement. 

“Well, I normally, uh, file by myself. But I have need of an accountant to help me out with some of the number. Tax software doesn’t do it all, you know?”

Jensen sighed a deep and heartfelt sigh. “I don’t do taxes for free.”

For some reason, Jared’s face fell for the briefest of seconds before lighting back up again. “I have money left over from the bou… the, uh, finder’s fee for the thing.”

“Anybody ever tell you that you’re terrible at subterfuge?” Jensen asked. He didn’t let Jared answer before slapping his hand against Jared’s phone where it rested in the other man’s pocket, “You’ve got my number. Text me the details.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It turned out that Jared was more than willing to pay for Jensen’s magical tech support. Being able to interface with any electronic system came in handy, especially because the human brain was a system of electric impulses. Jensen still remembered the fight he had over his superhero name with the Heroes Council. 

They thought that Black Out or Knock Out or even Fistless Boxer would make Jensen more accessible to the public. But Jensen wasn’t a brawler, which was evidenced by how unbroken his nose was even after years of being a superhero. For thirty days, Jensen wasn’t allowed to obtain a superhero license because of his continuous dispute over his official name.

Eventually, Jensen agreed to bring called “Security” around the time that he finally convinced the council that being called “Cyber Security” would be bad and just “Cyber” would be worse. His only solace was that Jared went by the name “Fire Fly” because he could channel fire and fly and not because of any particular resemblance to a firefly.

The job was simple enough. They were looking for some stolen unobtanium that Jared’s arch-nemesis Dr. Fealsbadman was using to create evil minions out of used fedoras. Honestly, the most inconvenient parts of the entire operation was the fact that it made Jensen feel bad for the members of the Villain’s League because their naming conventions were clearly worse.

Even going to see The Chad was not too terribly bad. While Jensen had great control over electronics, he didn’t have that same mastery over languages. He could meld with a translation program for a bit, but he’d never get the results as the master of cryptography and linguistics. Rumor was that Chad Michael Murray was originally going to go by Crypto, but decided it was too ‘lame’ and demanded to be called “The Chad” instead.

“Jay-rod!” Chad cheered as both Jared and Jensen walked into his shop. Jensen rolled his eyes, but Jared just smiled.

“Hey, Chad,” he greeted. “I have some work for you.”

“Sure, sure. Anything for my best bud. Now tell me the scoop before I have to hear it from the news rags,” Chad said as he dragged Jared into the back room.

Jensen decided not to follow them. The Chad was best dealt with in small doses. It was better to sit in the lobby of his shabby office than have to listen to his nattering. Sadly, even though Jensen was trying to avoid listening to Chad’s voice, he couldn’t help overhearing some of their conversation when his name was mentioned.

“So,” Chad said, “I see you finally got Ackles to go on a date with you.” 

“It’s not, uh, I’m sort of paying him,” Jared clarified.

“Hey. No judgement here,” Chad replied. “Though, to be honest, that’s a side of him I never expected. Doesn’t seem the type to put out for cash, he’s too uptight.”

“What? Chad. No,” Jared tripped over his words like he was embarrassed. “I’m paying him to help me on this particular conflict.”

“Oh. Well, that’s stupid,” Chad informed him. “If the whole showing up at HIS conflicts didn’t net you some sweet ass, why do you think paying him to be in on yours will be any better?”

“It’s not about that,” Jared defended himself.

“Really?” Chad sounded disbelieving.

“Okay it is sort of about that, but not really. I just thought that maybe if we worked together for longer periods we could get to know each other better.”

“That’s not a bad plan, my man. Not bad at all! I knew you had some devious in you!” Chad cheered. “Now about the recording your future hotness found…”

Jensen tuned out when Chad actually started talking shop. If he thought about it hard enough, the awkward silences that always occurred when Jared showed up at one of Jensen’s showdowns started to take on a different light. Jensen had always assumed that Jared had wanted thanks or maybe even admiration for swooping in at the last second to not save the day. Jensen had never thought he was standing there, trying to summon the courage to ask Jensen on a date. 

Face with the idea that he might have been uncharitable to Jared, Jensen collapsed on the cheap, pealing vinyl seats that littered Chad’s office. He sat there and thought until Jared finally emerged from the backroom with a triumphant looking Chad.

There were some words exchanged about what was discovered, but they were just a buzz in Jensen’s brain. Now that he was looking at Jared with new eyes, he could see the way that Jared’s eyes kept tracking over to him. There was admiration and maybe a bit of lust in that gaze, and Jensen could admit to himself that he was flattered.

While Jensen had been known to hold a grudge for as long as hard as he possibly could, he wasn’t stupid. Jared hadn’t caused any true harm to Jensen, and what glory he had stolen hadn’t been stolen maliciously. If anything, his worst attribute was being unable to properly ask a man for a date.

Jensen though, could fix that. He waited until they concluded their business at Chad’s shop and went out into the cold night air. 

“Can I give you a lift?” Jared asked, his hair billowing in the breeze. There were plenty of people who would probably faint or cry with joy of a Superhero of Jared’s renown offered to fly them somewhere. But Jensen preferred to keep his feet on the ground for what he was about to do.  
The disappointed look that crossed over Jared’s face didn’t finish creating itself before Jensen’s mouth was pressing against his lips. A confused sound echoed for a second, but Jared wasn’t pulling away. It was chaste as far as kisses went. Jensen wasn’t about to lay a big one on somebody he really only knew in a professional sense.

“We should go out sometime,” he suggested as he pulled away.

“Yeah… Yes! That would be great!” Jared cheered, dimples making an appearance on his face.

Jensen gave him a gentle smile in return.


End file.
